Incognito
by Alabaster86
Summary: Zuko and Mai encounter each other in Ba Sing Se, each disguised. Will their true identities be revealed?


A/N: I must give Private Fire credit and thanks for this story idea. She has awesome ramblings.

**Incognito**

Ba Sing Se's Lower Ring smelled. Mai wrinkled her nose and silently cursed Azula for bringing her and Ty Lee here and then cursed the makeup and kimono and hairstyle she was forced to endure, the Kyoshi Warrior disguise that kept their true identities as Fire Nation a secret.

To be fair, Mai had wandered down to the Lower Ring of her own volition. Bored and unable to sleep, she had snuck out of their luxurious quarters in the Upper Ring, and then wandered aimlessly, getting further and further away from the palace and the Earth King and Azula's plans and any semblance of wealth. If Azula found out she had left without permission, the consequences could be dire. That all depended on the princess's mood. But at that moment, Mai simply did not care. She would take whatever might be coming to her and take it willingly enough.

Unfortunately, it appeared that the Lower Ring was as dull as the Upper and Middle ones. The streets were dark and mainly deserted, only a few lights here and there to illuminate the overall shabbiness. The occasional Dai Li agent strode arrogantly down one street or another, a show of power by the real leaders of Ba Sing Se. When she spotted a figure dressed all in black running across the rooftops, silently, swiftly, not even a shifting tile giving away his position, Mai decided to follow along on the streets. She could run quickly too and silence was her specialty.

Her heart beat just a little bit faster.

* * *

><p>The figure was lithe and graceful, always a few steps ahead of her. But Mai pursued doggedly, determined to make something interesting of this night. He seemed to sense her and peeked over his shoulder briefly, showing Mai not a face but a mask, blue, white and grinning hungrily. She sucked in her breath for a moment, more excited now. The Blue Spirit, famous outlaw, wanted by the Fire Nation for various crimes; could it really be him, the man she recognized from that wanted poster Azula had been sure to shove in her face? Or was it a copy cat?<p>

She chuckled low in her throat. He couldn't see her face either, so they were even. The thick white face paint of the Kyoshi Warriors and the dramatic red above her eyes kept her features hidden well. Not that it mattered really. How could the Blue Spirit possibly know _her_?

Mai stopped. In that instant she had recalled the poster, she had lost him. "Smart, Mai," she chastised herself.

The young woman stood perfectly still, cocked her head to one side and listened as hard as she could. The sounds of a scuffle emanated from an alleyway up ahead. Suddenly even more curious, Mai decided to investigate. As she peeked around the corner, the masked man was shoving a Dai Li agent to the ground, and making off at full speed.

Unable to just let the Blue Spirit go, Mai gave chase, keeping to the shadows as best she could. She had absolutely no clue where she was. Rather than worry, Mai reveled in the feeling of being utterly lost and uncertain of what might happen next. Her entire life had been a steady series of moves orchestrated by her parents and Azula. Not knowing was a strange kind of freedom.

When the Blue Spirit turned about and spotted her, his eyes beneath the mask fixing on her intently, rooting her to the spot, heat flooded her body. She felt her cheeks burn beneath the stark paint. There was something about him, something more than the firm muscle and grace, something achingly familiar. Mai expected him to pursue her at least and the idea thrilled her more than she wanted to admit, but he simply turned away, perhaps not perceiving her as a threat, and began to move again.

But she wasn't ready for things to end quite yet. Reaching for one of her blades, she took quick aim and threw. It flew, as she had intended, a hair's breadth away from his arm and clattered on the stones as it fell. The Blue Spirit bent down, picked up the blade, and then whirled about to face her once more. Mai felt that powerful gaze again and her body tingled. He ran, not away from her this time but toward her.

Mai was fast, but he was faster. Her heart was pounding now, not from the exertion, but from the adrenaline coursing through her bloodstream, pushing her to go more swiftly and harder though a part of her wanted to get caught. After what seemed like forever but was in reality a minute at best, the young woman felt fingers close around her wrist and tighten. She struggled then, trying to yank her arm out of the Blue Spirit's grip. He was strong and held her easily.

So Mai kicked out with her foot, impacting his kneecap. The masked man grunted and stumbled, dragging Mai to the ground with him. They rolled along the paving stones, neither saying a word. The atmosphere was rife with tension and something else, something that made Mai blush again. The closeness of their bodies, the press of his atop hers, his warm breath on her neck, was making her feel almost dizzy.

When they finally stilled, the Blue Spirit's greater weight winning out in the end, Mai splayed out beneath him, she flashed a wry smile, red painted lips curving upward just slightly. The young woman was in an awkward position, possibly dangerous, yet it was pleasant. Mai could feel his eyes searching hers for something, perhaps some intent to do him harm. He saw nothing of the sort, yet the Blue Spirit seemed reluctant to free her. Could it be he enjoyed the collision of their bodies as much as Mai did? She hoped so, and felt the heat rise to her cheeks once again.

Giving her one final look, the Blue Spirit stood up, every move elegant, and held out his hand to her. She took it and the warmth made her gasp. Once she was on her feet and steady, he handed over her knife and disappeared into the darkness.

"Well," Mai muttered under her breath as she watched his fading form. "I guess the Lower Ring has a few things to offer after all."

* * *

><p>He heard his uncle calling him for dinner, but the voice came to him as if through a thick fog.<p>

"Zuko!" This time Iroh approached his nephew and gave him a gentle shake. "What are you daydreaming about?" He assumed it was the girl, that cheerful one named Jin, whom the boy had taken out a few nights earlier.

"Hmm, oh, uh, nothing, Uncle; let's eat."

Zuko spooned the stew in absently while he pictured the girl with the knife, the girl dressed like those female warriors on Kyoshi Island, the girl who seemed so familiar.

"How do you like it?" Iroh asked. He himself ate with gusto, patting his substantial belly with appreciation.

"It's fine." Zuko held out his bowl for more.

Iroh sighed, disappointed in the reaction to a meal he had spent a great deal of time preparing. He poured himself a second cup of tea and observed his nephew. The young man was slightly flushed and a smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. His steadily growing dark brown hair was messy as though he constantly ran a hand through it.

"How was your little excursion last night?"

That caught the prince's attention. "You heard me?"

"I may be getting older, and I may sleep like the dead, but you were not quiet when you came in. What were you looking for?" Iroh hoped the prince wasn't getting himself into some kind of trouble. He seemed to think that he was invincible when he wore that Blue Spirit mask.

"I just needed to get out," Zuko lied. Well that was partly true. The tea shop and the small apartment both felt like prisons. Running through the nighttime streets was exhilarating and gave him the brief illusion of liberty.

"Hmm, you need to be careful of the Dai Li. We've both heard what they're capable of, Zuko."

"I know, I know." The old, almost customary exasperation tinted his voice now. "I think that I'll go back out tonight." He was hoping beyond hope that the mysterious girl, who still poked at the edges of his memory, would decide to repeat her nighttime activities as well. She wasn't really a Kyoshi Warrior. He was almost certain of that. They didn't throw knives, did they? Whoever she was, the girl made his pulse quicken. He had felt more alive last night than he had in what seemed like forever. Perhaps she had been similarly affected.

Zuko was not exactly suave when it came to girls. He was shy and awkward, never knew what to say, and when he did speak, his words were inevitably stupid or embarrassing or both. But wearing the Blue Spirit mask, everything changed. His confidence increased. He could speak without words, allowing his movements and actions to tell their own story. And the story was, he liked the girl that he had met the night before. Well, 'met' was not exactly accurate. Perhaps encountered was a better word. Yes, that worked.

"Back out?" Something was definitely up. Iroh cleared the dishes with Zuko's help and began to wash up. He kept taking sideways peeks at his nephew. "Does this have something to do with that Jin girl, the one you had dinner with?"

"Wha, what? No, no, it has nothing to do with her. I promise." Zuko was blushing now, because his annoyingly perceptive uncle was not far off the mark.

Iroh had to keep digging. "_Another_ girl perhaps?" It was in his nature and part of his duty as a concerned and loving uncle.

"Uh, um, where would I meet another girl, Uncle?" That might throw him off, Zuko mused, but knowing the old man, who could be as annoyingly persistent as he could be annoyingly perceptive, it would not. The prince was right.

Iroh gave the teenager a wink. "Oh, I don't know, anywhere really. It is a big city with lot and lots of lovely ladies. I've sure you've encountered more than just one." The tea maker certainly had.

"Well, I guess, but I don't really notice them or anybody really, unless I need to. And I don't really need to." He put down the cloth used to dry the dishes and headed off to his tiny bedroom. "I'm going to sleep for a few hours, you know, so I can go out and not be tired tomorrow."

"All right, nephew. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Uncle."

Zuko slid the door shut with a sense of relief, then sunk down onto his futon. He was asleep almost instantly and dreamed of the painted girl.

* * *

><p>"Mai?" Ty Lee was staring at her friend curiously. "You seem almost, I mean, sort of, well, happy today. Did something happen that I don't know about?" Happy was not the sort of word that you normally placed in the vicinity of Mai's name.<p>

The black haired girl allowed herself the luxury of a small smile. "No," she replied succinctly. "I simply feel good today."

"Feel good…." The bouncy fourteen year old turned the words over on her tongue and in her mind. That wasn't something Mai usually said either. In fact, she had_ never_ heard Mai say those words.

"Yes, is that so strange?" Mai's smile vanished.

Princess Azula, their leader, the person whom Ty Lee feared and the one that Mai was always wary of, strode into the dining room."Don't believe her, Ty Lee. She got up to _something_ last night. Didn't you, Mai?"

"Nothing important," Mai replied readily. "Unless you consider wandering about the city because I couldn't sleep 'important'."

"Don't buy it," the princess warned Ty Lee. "She's obviously hiding something, and I'm sure that she'll tell us eventually." She turned her amber eyed gaze toward Mai and narrowed it just a little bit, enough to let Mai know that she had_ better_ share.

Mai sighed irritably, any semblance of her good mood long gone. "I followed some guy, that's all. It was mildly amusing, like a hunt or a chase."

"Oooh," Ty Lee swooned, clasping her hands together and gazing at both her friends. "Guys are great. What did he look like? Was he cute? Muscular? Handsome?"

Mai recalled the muscles and the closeness of the man's body. She felt that tingle again and bit her tongue. The pain brought her back to the reality of Azula's appraising stare. "I didn't get a good look, Ty Lee. He was too far away."

The acrobatic girl was clearly disappointed. "Ohhh, well that's no good. You have to get close, Mai, close enough to smell them."

Oh, Agni, he had smelled good too. She mentally cursed Ty Lee and her boy craziness. "That's your territory, I guess," Mai said with a shrug.

"Do you think it's a good idea to wander around the city at night, Mai? I mean, we are in the middle of infiltrating the government here; things are delicate right now. I would really hate for anything to jeopardize our position." Azula looked at the older girl pointedly.

Mai's words were calm and cool. "I didn't jeopardize anything and I won't. There's no need for you to worry, Azula."

"Still, I think it's best if you don't go out again. But I'll leave that decision up to you." Implied was the idea that Mai had better make the right decision.

Mai chose to ignore that implication. "Fine," was all she said.

She dug into her dinner then, and thought about the Blue Spirit. Azula didn't matter.

* * *

><p>Zuko stepped out of his apartment and climbed silently up onto the roof before taking off at a run, heading toward the exact spot he had first noticed the young woman following him. He was a bit apprehensive and worried that she wouldn't be there, but more than those things, Zuko was excited. His heart beat madly in his chest and his palms were slightly sweaty. Beneath the evilly grinning mask, his face felt warm.<p>

When he arrived at the street, Zuko crouched on the rooftop of a bakery and peered up and down the dark streets. There was nobody moving about and the first pang of disappointment hit.

"Don't be stupid, Zuko," he chastised himself. "She might still be coming. Maybe she's got further to go."

He sat then and kept vigil, deciding to stay until the sky began to lighten again. That would give her more than enough time to make it. What if she couldn't, though? What if she had left the city, or got into some kind of trouble for wandering about at night? What if she wasn't interested and would avoid this area for the rest of time just because of him.

Zuko gave his head a shake. He was being stupid again and over analyzing like he always did. After a few deep, calming breaths, he settled down to wait again.

It wasn't much later that a figure caught his eye. "That's her," he declared to the night.

Silently, he dropped down to the street.

* * *

><p>Part of her felt ridiculous. Why was she walking all the way back to the Lower Ring, risking Azula's ire again, only for the off chance that <em>he<em> would show up in the same spot for the second night, second night that she knew of anyway? It was impulsive and Mai was never impulsive. Any of _that_ had been beaten out of her years earlier. But something, a smaller, unusually persistent part of Mai demanded that she do this. Who was she to argue with herself?

"Now I sound crazy," the blades master whispered as she walked quickly, ever alert for Dai Li agents who would undoubtedly question a lone girl wandering the streets past regular curfew. She couldn't help but let the tiniest of giggles out. "If only mother could see me now." Mai was quick to place a gloved hand over her mouth to muffle any other errant noises.

She silently cursed the garish makeup of the Kyoshi Warriors once more. It didn't exactly blend in with the dark and dingy surroundings. In fact, she looked like some refugee from a circus and her face was like a target, begging to be hit. When a Dai Li agent glanced in her direction, stopped and listened intently for far longer than Mai was comfortable with, she almost regretted not simply coming as herself. But that would take some of the fun out of her potential meeting with the Blue Spirit.

Once the agent was on his way, Mai picked up her pace. As she got closer to the location from the night before, her breath quickened and her heart began a speedy drumbeat inside her chest. At first glance, she was disappointed. Her eyes went immediately to the rooftops and saw no black figure there waiting.

"Oh," she said and her face fell for a moment. Whatever she had felt last night, she had been alone in feeling. Then her eye caught the slightest of movements outside a shop. He _had _come.

They walked toward each other cautiously, neither saying anything. When they stood less than a foot away from each other, Mai gave the man a smirk, turned on her heel and ran, fully expecting him to run after her. He did.

She darted in and out of alleys, up and down streets and behind shops, always listening for his footsteps behind her. Mai was grinning and glad that no one could see. It had been months, years even since she had felt this alive. Her blood pounded hard in her ears and her entire body strained forward, muscles beginning to ache.

When she sprinted into a dead end alley, chided herself for the mistake and then turned around, she was face to face with the blue and white mask. Mai could hear his breathing and she was certain that beneath the mask he was smirking. She was caught now. It remained to be seen what the man would do.

* * *

><p>Zuko didn't know what to do. His fingers twitched and he longed to bridge that tiny gap between them and press his body against hers. He had a pretty good feeling that she wouldn't object. The girl wasn't trying to get away. It seemed as though she was waiting for him to make a move.<p>

Hesitantly, he reached out with his hand and pushed a stray strand of hair away from her face. The girl gasped but didn't cringe or try to evade his touch. Zuko couldn't shake the feeling that he knew her from somewhere else. Maybe he should just remove his mask and reveal his own face, scar and all. Would she run away then or avert her eyes, those_ golden_ eyes?

"I know you," he rasped, staring intensely at Mai. The eyes, the knives, the black hair; was it possible? Why would she be here in the Earth Kingdom, in Ba Sing Se dressed like a Kyoshi Warrior?

The voice, raw and sensual, though he certainly was not aware of _that_, made Mai tremble. It was familiar, but not quite._ Did_ she know him? "You do?" she asked in her own deep, gravelly voice.

He reached out again and touched her cheek, wiping hard at the paint, clearing off a bit of skin, pale, pale skin. She was beautiful and she was Fire Nation. She was Mai. Zuko was almost certain now.

"Mai," he choked out, suddenly panicked. He was terrified of revealing himself; Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, wandering about the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se, a peasant, hideously scarred, a tea shop worker. Surely she would want nothing to do with him. He felt shame burn hot inside, flames licking at the surface and colouring his unmarked cheek a deep red. The prince was grateful for the mask.

The young woman's mind worked frantically. There really was no other possibility. It had to be Zuko. How she ached to pull back that mask and see him. How her body longed for more of his touch. It had been so long, far too long since the prince had gone away, leaving her empty and bereft.

"Let me see you," she pleaded softly. Zuko shook his head and turned away. But Mai would have none of that. "I _will_ see you." The words were firm, commanding. He faced her again and with trembling hands lifted the mask.

"Zuko," she mouthed and reached out with her own hand, gently caressing his face, skimming the scar.

She did not flinch or look away. It was like the scar didn't even matter. The mark was simply a part of him, a part she accepted, as she had always accepted everything about him. Zuko should have known better.

His eyes were riveted to her lips then and he leaned in to kiss them. Mai moved too and they met somewhere in the middle, warmth pressed to warmth, a feeling unlike any either had experienced. Explanations and talk could wait. There was so much more body to discover.

* * *

><p>AN: I believe that each subconsciously knew the identity of the other from the beginning.

Scene break thingy has been acting strange lately, so if there are no scene break lines where there should be, it's not because I didn't hit the little button.


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